WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC TO AIR ON ESPN AMERICA

The World Baseball Classic, the game’s premier international tournament, is to air exclusively live on ESPN America (Sky Channel 417 & Virgin Media Channel 533) from Thursday 5^th March.  Featuring sixteen of the greatest baseball-playing nations from around the globe, the tournament will see the best players in the world – like Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Ichiro Suzuki and Jose Reyes – compete against each other as they represent their home countries. ESPN America will broadcast live and as-live coverage of the opening round, round two, semi-finals and the final.

The World Baseball Classic will be played in five countries around the world. The 2009 tournament will begin on Thursday 5^th March when Japan play China in Tokyo (at 9.30 am UK time). The teams start in the following groups:

Round Two games will be played in PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres, and Dolphin Stadium, home of the Florida Marlins. The four advancing teams from Pools A and B will compete in San Diego from March 15 – 19, and the four teams emerging from Pools C and D will contend in Miami. ESPN America will also air the Semi-Final and Final Games live from historic Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on March 21, 22 and 23.

At the last World Baseball Classic, in March 2006, 486 players – 235 of them from MLB organisations – representing 16 teams from across the globe competed in the inaugural event. More than 740,000 fans from 48 US states and 15 countries attended games and millions more watched on TV as Japan were crowned the first-ever World Baseball Classic Champions. From 2009, the tournament will be held every four years hereafter, with plans in place to expand the participant field beginning in 2013.

FULL LIVE MATCH SCHEDULE ON ESPN AMERICA